When you are looking for the perfect professional footwear you need to make some choices.
In some manufacturer’s or retailer’s websites there are some good search engines that will direct you to the perfect product for your needs, but in some other cases choosing can be more difficult, so knowing the features you need in advance will help you a lot.
In this article I’ll show you the 13 points to check for choosing the perfect professional footwear for your needs.
I bet you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to find the perfect product!
The list of the 13 points to check for choosing the perfect professional footwear for your needs:
- 1. Steel toe or non-steel toe safety shoes?
- 2. Do you do need specific job-related footwear?
- 3. Leather, polymeric or hybrid footwear?
- 4. Safety category
- 5. Type of footwear
- 6. Design (height of the upper) of the footwear
- 7. Type of toe cap protection
- 8. Type of puncture resistant protection
- 9. Type of outsole composition
- 10. Electrical resistance of the outsole
- 11. Type of additional requirements, if present (features)
- 12. Slip resistance of the footwear
- 13. Any additional comfort need
Let me now list, one by one, the 13 points to check for choosing the perfect professional footwear and the possible choices to make. I’ll also discuss each different topic further in other articles of this blog:
(1): Steel toe or soft toe shoes?
The choice of course comes from the risk of receiving an impact on the toes area:
- Safety footwear with toe cap protection up to 125J
- Occupational footwear without toe cap protection
(2): Do you do need specific job-related footwear?
- Footwear protecting against chemicals.
- Footwear for firefighters.
- Chainsaw resistant footwear
- Footwear for foundries and welding
(3): Leather, polymeric or hybrid footwear?
- Leather: Full grain, printed leather, nubuck, suede leather, microfiber, textile, mesh
- Polymeric Rain boots: PCV, Polyurethane, Neoprene
- Hybrid: lower part polymeric, upper part (extension) of a different material
(4): Safety category
- EH
- SD
- EH PR
- SD PR
Best EH safety shoes, selected by SafetyShoesToday:


(5): Type of footwear
- Shoe
- clog
- sandal
- ankle boot
- rigger
- ranger
- …
(6): Design (height of the upper) of the footwear
- low cut shoe
- ankle boot
- half knee boot
- rain boot
(7): Type of toe cap protection
- Steel (metallic)
- aluminum (metallic)
- plastic (composite, non metallic)
- carbon fiber (non metallic)
- fiberglass (non metallic)
Best composite toe safety shoes, selected by SafetyShoesToday:

(8): Type of puncture resistant protection
- Steel
- textile
(9): Type of outsole composition
- PU
- PU/PU
- PU/TPU
- PU/RUBBER
- FULL RUBBER
- EVA/RUBBER
(10): Electrical resistance of the outsole
- EH Electrical Hazard
- SD Static Dissipative
Best SD safety shoes, selected by SafetyShoesToday:


(11): Type of additional requirements if present (features)
- Puncture resistant
- Waterproof
- Metatarsal protection
- Ankle protection
(12): Slip resistance of the footwear?
- Mark II test if available
(13): Any additional comfort need?
- Comfort insoles
- Energy absorption systems in the heel
- Paddings
- Lacing systems
- Special widhts D, E, EE, EEE
- ….
I’m sure that there are some more details that you could check when choosing your safety footwear, but these are the basic ones that you better check. Now you know the 13 points to check for choosing the perfect professional footwear for your needs.
When you’ll have selected the professional footwear with the right features for your job you’ll be more protected and comfortable at work.
I guarantee that if you use the right professional footwear you’ll live a better working experience.
What do you think about the 13 points to check for choosing the perfect professional footwear for your need?
Do you have points to add?
Please write your comments below!